Abstracts Category : Other

Connection of Food system and the Baltic Sea : operators perspectives to key problems and solution ideas

by Riina Krki

The aim of the thesis is to identify key problems in the food production chain related to the Baltic Sea and how operators in the chain experience them. In addition, the thesis offers ideas on how to solve the key problems. The actors are corporate, public, education and civil operators. Consumers are not included in the study.The status of the Baltic Sea is not sustainable. Even though a wide range of research, action plans and observation have been done, more actions are still needed. Eutrophication is one of the key problems of the Baltic Sea. The largest eutrophicator is the agriculture.The study was carried out as a part of the project: FuturesLab CoFi Laurea, Tulevaisuuden vesiliiketoiminta vesi nyt ja tulevaisuudessa (Keh-hanke EAKR 9/2016-8/2018). The project concentrates on the Uusimaa region in South-Finland. The study gathered background information of the current status of the Baltic Sea and the water bodies. In addition, the current situation of the Finnish food sector is introduced.Data was collected with twenty-six interviews. The data was then analysed to identify the main themes of the key problems and solutions. Fifty key problems and forty-five solutions were found. The analysis showed that there were differences between actor groups on their thoughts about the key problems. However, only a few differences were statistically significant. The key problems, which emerge the most, are: weaknesses of the knowledge, the information distribution weaknesses, long-term actions lacking, lack of co-operation, and the balance of the economical, ecological and social sides. The most common ideas for solutions are: increased co-operation, concrete measures and actions, political control in the direction of sustainability, and new research and innovations.A Future Workshop was organised and the basis for it was the findings from the interviews. It was possible to look deeper into the subject in the Future Workshop. The discussions resulted into some new ideas.The thesis gathered thoughts of this wide topic on the food production chain and sustainability from different actor groups. It was thus possible to compare the groups ideas about key problems and solutions. The findings in this study were in line with other studies. The results should be taken into account especially at the administrative level. The food system should be renewed and developed more sustainable at all levels. The study indicates that desire for a more sustainable Baltic Sea can be found, but actions and information about distribution are needed.; Opinnytetyn tavoitteena on tunnistaa Itmereen ja ruokajrjestelmn liittyvt keskeiset ongelmat, ja miten ruokajrjestelmn toimijat kokevat ne. Lisksi opinnytety tarjoaa ideoita keskeisten ongelmien ratkaisemiseksi. Toimijat ovat yrityksi, julkishallinnon edustajia, koulutuksen ja tutkimuksen edustajia sek kansalaisjrjestj. Kuluttajat eivt sislly tutkimukseen toimijoina.Itmeren tila ei ole kestv. Vaikka tutkimusta, toimintasuunnitelmia